Working on Friday!

 

I am still working on my Christmas quilt. I am quilting it now and almost done, so I will definitely be finished by next week. I think for next year, I need to work all year to get all the other projects done. The colors are a bit off in this photo, so hopefully I can get a better one, when finished. I had to hand write the saying, and I think I made mine a bit larger than the original, but I like how well it stands out. 

We got out last weekend and spent some time at the ocean. It was warm enough to walk along the beach and enjoy watching the Sanderlings, running along the beach.

Today it warmed up a bit, so we got to spend some time at the beach. The marina has their own Christmas decoration. I bet it looks beautiful when lit up at night, the lights run down, along the crane.

And I found another odd object that got washed up with the tide.

And I found a bit of glass and some pottery. It was nice to be out again and tomorrow will be nice, as well, so some time at the seaport for some Christmas activity and maybe a hike on Sunday. I hope. you all have a nice weekend and able to get out and enjoy some of the holiday festivities.

Working on Friday!

 

This week has been busy with walks and bird watching, but I managed to start a new project. I got an appliqué top from a friend, with a nautical theme and I wanted to work on that now, so I can have it for the summer.

The piece is square, so I decided to leave it as is and do some fun quilting. It will make a nice wall hanging. I got the design from a book I have, then I had to freehand it onto the quilt, since I didn't have any transfer pencils. Not bad, a little wonky, but I don't mind. I started with a blue marker to fit it in, then used the white chalk pencil to redo a few parts to even it out. I am working with white pearl cotton so the designs stand out. 

Last weekend we tried a new hike. It was a beautiful area with lots of hills, but it was warm and buggy, so we only did 4 miles. I will go back to hike more of the trails in this area. It is old farm area, so a lot of cellar holes and I spotted some old cars near an old foundation.

We followed a few streams which was nice, since those areas were cooler. Lots of birds in the area, but they were all hiding in the tall trees.

Another day we went for a ride, to find Osprey nests. I found a lot of nests but here are a few unique ones. This guy was nesting on a light pole and moved over to this one when I got too close. 

I found this pair in someones chimney. I guess they won't be using it, this year.

We made a stop at the beach and I got a wonderful surprise, when I spotted this guy, laying on the beach. It is a Northern Gannet, which live in areas like Newfoundland. Not sure if he was lost of making a stop on his way home, but I thought he was hurt since he could barely walk. I found out later that, they do not do well on land. They stay in the water and only go on rocky cliffs to nest, so once he went to the water, he seemed fine.

We also spotted some Sanderlings. They are fun to watch, running in and out of the water.

And this gull was funny. He got a crab, a live one. He found out the hard way, the crab did not like being eaten.

In the marsh, I spotted this Snowy Egret.

During the week, we went for a hike to see the seals before they leave. It seems the point is always windy, so hard to hold steal for shots.

This seagull was making faces for me.

On the way out, we spotted a family of deer. There were five in all, and this one posed for me. I hope you all had a good week and enjoy your weekend. We have one decent day and then rain, so hiking day and rest day for me.

Friday Finish!

 

This week I worked on a new project from Cheri Saffiote, offered on her group, as a freebie.  The group is a wonderful way to remember Cheri and keep her memory alive. This week we lost another fellow designer, Sandra Caldwell. It seems we have lost a lot of designers and good friends over the last few years.

The original design has a pieced backing, but I had some old blocks that a friend gifted me, so I used those. One block has the saying inside, so I made a separate piece and sewed that on. It was fun to make and I may make more with the original design. I am thinking I may do hot pads as gifts for my family members, with designs to fit their likes and my brother and one sister, loves chickens.

I made these for myself, so I didn't mind if they were a bit wonky.

The weather has been all over the place, but we get out when we can, even on cool days. Last weekend we visited Moonstone beach. It is a long stretch of beach so we only did the area where the pond and birding was.

I spied quite a few birds in the dunes around the pond. most are shy so I had to take quick shots. A Sony Sparrow, Greater Egret and a Kingfisher.

On the walk back, I almost walked into these guys. They blend into their surroundings, which is why the beach is closed this month. The Piping Plovers are nesting there, so they keep it protected. The bird with the shorter beak is a Sanderling and the longer beak is a Dunlin.

And lots of interesting things left on the beach, not sure if they washed up or kids left them, but someone has piled them up so the ocean doesn't wash them away.

Along the rode we go, to get there, we happened to see two swans and stopped to see what else was at the pond. That is when I noticed the nest, looks like there will be some new swans this spring. Hopefully I can be in the area when they are born.

We stopped at another beach area to see if the Ospreys were back, and they were. The male was gathering sticks to add to the nest. He would hand them to the female who would decide where it went. This nest is double in size since I last saw it, they have been busy.

It seems Sunday is always the rainy day, but we were able to get some time in, at the beach. I never get tired of the different views since it is surrounded by water on three sides. The island where the lighthouse sits was an old fort and I spent a lot of summers with my family, taking the boat across for a picnic and exploring the island.

Beach combing seems to have dwindled lately, but still fun to look and get a good walk in. I hope everyone had a good week and can enjoy the weekend. It looks like we have another rainy Sunday.

Friday Finish!

 

This week I started one project, then another and then I got the new stitchery of the month. The second project I made and finished before the others since it is for the boys. It was a design in a Whimsicals book and I did a few in fun colors as bookmarks for the boys. 

I started the new stitchery next, but still working on that, they will be hot pads for me, and perfect for Valentines and Easter, so I will get those done next, then the project I was working on, will get done. With the cold and now an ice storm, I will have a lot more time indoors.

I used some glitter threads and ribbon with glitter on the tags.

I hope everyone faired well in the last storm and the ones coming through this weekend. We had a lot of rain and now it is icing, so the roads will be a mess.

Last weekend we got a few feet of snow, now it has all melted and made ponds in my yard. I have gotten quite a few visitors with the snow and cold, they need more energy to keep them warm. The wind was so bad, I had to put a heavy bowl on the porch, so the wind wouldn't blow it away.

The birds seem to be more active when it is cold or raining. A few more from last Saturday.

Since we have been stuck in the house so much, Bill took a day off, when the weather was a bit better. We took a drive to the beach at the southern coast and enjoyed walking in the fresh air, until the fog rolled in, then it was more like rain.

Before it got wet, I was able to catch a few shots of the Sanderlings. They are busy little birds, so hard to get a shot, it took me 70 shots to catch a few good ones.

Eating and cleaning.

And we found a few treasures. The beach was full low tide and no people, but so much beach and rocks, along with no sun, so harder to find pieces. I did luck out and found a marble and a few old pieces. 

Time to set up a little table so I can play with my pieces and start making some art items. So many ideas and projects, I need more time in the day. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and enjoy some crafting time this winter.

My Week in Review!

( I had my store closed, while we were away, so for those who wanted to order and couldn't, it is open again)

We had quite the week, not much down time but time on the beach, relaxing and enjoying the views. We had lots of action with high surf and nights watching sunsets and the moonrise. Bean of course, loved it all, he made lots of friends and for the first time, jumped in and swam to retrieve a ball. Of course he would not do that for me, but for his new friend and mom who threw the ball for him. Bean is just a show off.

Bill kept Bean occupied so I could get photos. Low tides are the best time when the shorebirds come to eat on the pickings that are left on the shore.

We spent our days at the beach, Bean played and Bill played chicken with the incoming waves that came flying over the breakers.

We also roamed the rocky beaches by the lighthouse. A great place to collect new rocks to paint and a place to enjoy other's rock art. The rock protruding from the water, reminds me of King Kong climbing up to shore, lol.

The surfers were out in force, on both sides of the point.

We watched boats go by, this guy was getting quite the ride with the waves and wind.

And of course, we saw beautiful sunsets each night.

I love the solitude of these shots, with the birds in one and the man in this one.

And my first ever moon shot, where you can see the craters. Not bad for hand held, with winds and sea spray. The bad thing......I had to get up on a rock ledge to get shots and I asked Bill to keep me from falling, but.... he pushed me and I went flying into the rock and bashed my head, with my sunglasses so they jammed into my head and I banged my knee. But, I can still walk and I am hard headed, lol, and I got a great shot that night.

We decided not to leave in the morning so left, late that afternoon, so we could get home and eat and get some things done. Then Sunday we took a ride to Connecticut to go apple picking. Not only did we get apples, but they had pears and nectarines. The farm fields are so big that they give you tractor rides to the orchards that are open for picking.

I hope you all had a wonderful week and for those in the path of the storm, that you made it through, safe and sound.